This invention relates to a liquid level regulator device of the kind used to control the level of a liquid such as water in a storage tank, sump or other type of container.
A liquid level regulator device is known which comprises a tear drop shaped plastic body which is selectively weighted according to the specific gravity of the liquid in which it is to be used. The above device is used in pairs, and two regulator devices are in use suspended from electrical cables which are supported vertically above the tank or container for the liquid. The devices are hung at different heights, corresponding to desired maximum and minimum liquid levels. When each device is free of the liquid, it hangs vertically. When the liquid level rises sufficiently to substantially submerge the device, it tilts, actuating an attitude sensitive switch within the housing of the device. The switching action is used to actuate a pump controller or other liquid level control device. Using this arrangement, a pump may be activated to fill the container when the liquid level drops to a predetermined minimum level and the pump may be deactivated when the level reaches a predetermined maximum level.
The known device does not float in the water, but is arranged so that its base portion is more buoyant than its neck portion, which causes a tilting action of the device when submerged. However, the effect of this arrangement is that the switching action of the device is rather sluggish, and a positive switching action may not be obtained, particularly when there is a degree of turbulence in the liquid.
A disadvantage of the above arrangement is that the regulator device, when in the process of being submerged, reaches an intermediate stage between the vertical on the one hand and fully tilted on the other hand wherein the switching mechanisms within the device tends to open and close a few times intermittently. This is highly undesirable since this causes the pump motor to be switched on and off and can accordingly cause damage to the motor. This situation is usually aggravated where the devices are used in industrial or mining applications where the liquid in the tank remains turbulent.